Former Impulse Boss Predicts GameStop Will Beat Steam

[Stabby Joe]

Isn't GameStop only in the US? Steam have a head start around the world.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

"I think GameStop's going to beat Steam, and I'll tell you why. One of the things that we do in our surveys is ask, why do you buy from Steam versus Impulse versus whatever. Over 80 percent who respond say 'price'," Wardell told PCWorld [http://www.pcworld.com/article/224518-2/stardock_ceo_explains_gamestop_impulse_buy_steam_rivalry.html]. "Now I can't speak for GameStop, but I know what I would do. Next time you buy something from GameStop for your Xbox 360, I'd give you some token you could use on Impulse toward a deal or sale on some other title. Pretty soon everything on Impulse is cheaper."

That's some funny stuff there.
Steam's got a trillion deals that don't require stupid tokens. If you're going for the PC gamer crowd, you're a bit late- most of us use steam for our stuff as it is, and people like status quo.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Unless Gamestop buys out Valve (not happening. Ever.) that prediction is moot anyway.
I refuse to do business with Gamestop in any case.

 

[teebeeohh]

the only thing that could break steams back would be a system with less intrusive drm and similar prices. since everyone and their mom seems to love drm, this won't happen

 

[theultimateend]

The ONLY way this could happen is if Gabe Newell OD'd on fried chicken.

When he outlives us all it'll be hilarious.

 

[Dys]

Steam is easier and cheaper, and with GameStop's pricing history I see absolutely no way they could beat Steam. GameStop price gouges everything in their stores, while Steam underprices everything. I just can't see GameStop being willing to drop prices enough to even compete with Steam, much less overtake them.

That's region Dependant, where I'm from both are absurdly expensive (presumably due to the publishers, as valve developed games are priced the same as they are overseas). Small retailers (admittedly not gamestop) import their own stock and charge rrp for PC games ($50us~$49au), where steam typically charges $80-$90 for a digital copy of the same game (and for the extra charge you get slapped with the extra layer of DRM).

That and the fact that every gamer in his right mind hates GameStop with a passion. That might hurt sales a bit, particularly with the slightly more savvy PC gaming crowd compared to your average knuckle-dragging caveman that shops at GameStop stores.(That isn't a knock towards console gamers, more a knock towards idiots that shop at GameStop.)

Every gamer in his right mind also hates steam[footnote]It's a totalitarian DRM scheme dressed up by clever marketing and good product support (cheap, good games like TF2 are not update because valve like giving you free shit, it's done because they need to give you some incentive to use their horrible DRM platform).[/footnote], and if they've been paying attention to digital distribution, love impulse. The one thing steam does have going for it, the only reason steam is ever able to offer it's sales is because it's so large and so universally supported by developers and users, if gamestop get the market share from users who typically don't use digital distribution, and get a userbase comparable to that of steam, it will become universally cheaper[footnote]unless they are stupid and brand it as gamestop, price everything absurdly high and reverse the current 'no horrible steam like drm' policy impulse is rocking.[/footnote], and the cheaper, better platform is inevitably going to be the more successful one.

4. Price? Are you serious? Any Gamer worth his system will tell you Gamestop is horribly overpriced. Steam is actually one of the cheapest ways to get games, outside of piracy.

As I said above, this is only true for a minority of gamers? Steam is not even close to the cheapest way to legitimately buy games in a huge portion of the world. The current impulse price list is already occasionally cheaper than steam (even though it has nowhere near the influence on publishers valve have) and it's consistently cheaper to buy a boxed version of the game. In my case, it's between $20 and $40 cheaper to buy a boxed copy of a new release game from the USA or GB (or wherever) and have it posted over.... it's up to 60% more expensive to buy from steam than shipping a single physical copy internationally...That isn't the typical definition of 'one of the cheapest'.

And the zune killed the iPod as predicted

I think microsoft actually wanted Apple to show them up. The zune seemed to be a better product than the ipod yet it was given a terrible release (a non existent one most places) and no support. Same thing happened with smartphones, the first iphone was a piece of shit compared to even dated windows based PDAs when it came out, but through a general contempt for their products microsoft managed to lose what little market share it had to a largely inferior product. They even let companies ruin windows mobile 6.5 (I had my first experience with a 'bad' windows phone fairly recently, have previously only used ones designed by people who had considered ergonomics I had never understood how windows mobile was so consistently condemned.....It's clear now) in addition to not giving their product any support down the track. I'm expecting microsoft to pack up and leave as soon as another operating system attempts to directly compete with it.

 

[Rayne870]

yeah thats not going to happen case in point:

i went to gamestop yesterday bought bulletstorm used, the guy offered me the online pass there for 15 bucks and then told me that it was available on xbox for 10...now who am i going to purchase from if i want an online pass?

 

[Hatchet90]

For as long as I can, I will always use Gamestop or some other store. I'm paying for a product, I want the box and all that comes with it. Even if it costs extra, I will never use Steam to buy a game. It's not palpable. I'll stick with Glyde if I want to buy games online.

 

[Project_Xii]

Wait wait wait.... Impulse is owned by Gamestop? O_O

Hell I work for the business and I didn't know that (well, the EB Games section of it). Goes a long way to explaining why impulse is so insanely priced and out of touch with everything today's gamers want.

At the moment I'm wondering how many more years it'll take Steam and Valve to make enough money to buy the world. Or at least Activision. And kill it. Horribly.

 

[Mercsenary]

"Now I can't speak for GameStop, but I know what I would do. Next time you buy something from GameStop for your Xbox 360, I'd give you some token you could use on Impulse toward a deal or sale on some other title. Pretty soon everything on Impulse is cheaper.

... But that means Impulse surpassed Steam.


Besides Gamestop is cheap?

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Oh man. That's good.

That and they try to upsell you on everything(Granted, that's not a slight to employees; its part of their job).

Surpassing Steam yeah okay sure...

Competing with Steam? That's a different story. Quite frankly a little competition I think would be nice. I mean right there's

Steam. Direct2Drive. And... I cant name any more. And that's a problem.

 

[killamanhunter]

Here is a story I will tell you all:

A collector of Captain America things has one more action figure to find before his collection is complete. He searches all day throughout the province but cannot find it. Returning home he sees an advertisement for a 3D hologram of the same action figure, he gladly pays the money for the 3D hologram, as he returns home he realizes that it's an all green, transparent, representation of the product, it's exactly the same but it doesn't have the package, none of the fun of polishing the case, or looking up on the shelf and seeing it. One month later he sees that action figure in the window of pawn shop. He realizes that he has enough money to pay for it and buys it. Dusts off the still undisturbed case, puts it on the shelf in the space that he left for it.

Morale of the story: People would rather have the real thing than a digital representation of it.

 

[Baldr]

GameStop Service is going to be a mix between GameStop, OnLive, and Steam: Buy a physical copy in the store, have a digital copy and a cloud copy. If you don't want to play on the cloud service, you can download the game and play offline. I know Steam is still working on getting the cloud part, but the first to offer both will win in the end. No laughing at that.

 

[drakythe]

I'm surprised by how ignorant people are on here about Impulse. I've been using the service ever since it came out (and the prequal to Impulse... I don't even remember what it was called, but it did the same thing, but was not near as pretty, and was for Stardock/totalgaming.net stuff only).

I've got my game library split about half and half between Steam/Impulse, because on occasion prices on Impulse are so stupidly insane that I HAVE to buy the item for later play (like Scrapland is on sale for 2.49 right now... I'd never even heard of it before but I'm seriously considering picking it up anyway just because its so cheap and has American McGee's name on it). Other times I buy a product because it uses steamworks and requires steam.

I'm probably a fanboy of Impulse (though to be fair I've also been using Steam since its inception, oh Lord, anyone remember those early buggy as hell releases that locked you out of your game?) but I see where Brad is coming from, and given his track record I'll let him have his 2 cents. For now, Steam rules the roost, but as others have pointed out, that DRM is gonna bite them in the butt before much longer.

But whatever, we're consumers, and competition can only be a good thing for us.

 

[Woodsey]

""Now I can't speak for GameStop, but I know what I would do. Next time you buy something from GameStop for your Xbox 360, I'd give you some token you could use on Impulse toward a deal or sale on some other title. Pretty soon everything on Impulse is cheaper."

ONCE YOU'VE PAID FOR THE MORE EXPENSIVE GAMES.

No wonder he had to let it go, I doubt this guy can guy tie his own bloody shoelaces together.

Oh, and wasn't there a report or something yesterday that detailed how outdated Impulse is?

 

[godofallu]

BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Gamestop with its over priced crap and retarded used game sales beat STEAM? Lord of all Discounts? Not a chance.

Gamestop was ok but STEAM doesn't only have convenience on them they have a universal network for communities, thousands of games GAMESTOP refuses to look at. Sorry but no it won't.

Gamestop could offer faster download speeds and cheaper prices. They simply have more capitol to toss around, and a sales volume.

Not saying they will achieve their goals, just saying they have the resources to pull it off. Then again EA has the resources to make a profit, but instead they hemorrhage money like they got bit by a tunnel web spider.

 

[teethofymir]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! That's a really good joke!

Oh wait? They're serious?

That guy is barking mad.

 

[tkioz]

Well so far Valve hasn't bent me over and rammed a baseball bat up my rectum. Gamestop on the other hand... I don't think I've ever had a positive dealing with that company, the only reason I use to deal with them at all was they were the only place in town, thankfully another store has opened since then that has gotten my custom.

Valve also has a history of admitting mistakes and offering compensation (free copies for games and stuff) for those mistakes, Gamestop just seems to deny deny deny blame you and then finally offer some half ass press release.